COFFEE!! Aeropress Coffemaker review and Giveaway!!

Ok... so you are thinking, what does coffee have to do with minimalist running, the Incline, or a healthy lifestyle.. my answer? EVERYTHING!

First of all, I LOVE coffee.. and I know many others that do as well. So for those of you that do.. hang tight for a very cool giveaway.





Now.. there are a variety of studies out there on coffee, and some say its good, some says its bad.. however most of the bad goes along with over consumption.  So all things in moderation, including moderation :-).

As for running, there is nothing more that I like better (or rely on) is that great morning cup of coffee to get me up and rolling for a 430 am trail run. If I could figure out an easy way to bring more with me, I might, but in reality I am a one cup in the AM kind of guy, so I like to make sure my coffee is really good..

Which now brings me to one of the coolest products I've come across in some time.  I had a Kuerig "K-Cup" brewer for about a year, however I was on my 2nd machine from Costco (they have a great return policy), because it would work awesome for about 5 months, and then go downhill.  I think much of it was related to the altitude and air pressure (we live at 8500+ ft).

After returning the second one, I decided to go back to my Bodum press.  I love pressed coffee, and since I'm the only coffee drinker in the house, it was easier to make a cup at a time.  A friend asked me if I'd tried out the Aeropress yet. He's a true coffee aficionado, roasting his own beans in his garage and downing straight up espresso daily...

So, I borrowed his for a week and fell in love with it.  And, being the lucky dad that I am, received one of my own for Father's day this year.

So.. what's cool about it?  Well, it basically functions somewhat like a press, and kind of not.  It does however make great coffee, and it fits the "minimalist" idea, by being very simple and straightforward.

So here are the components of the system.  Again, pretty simple stuff.  Below, I took pictures of the steps I follow to brew a great cup.  I apologize for the quality of some of the pics, but you have to understand these were taken BEFORE I got my coffee  :-)

First, drop a filter into the Filter Cap

Next, screw it to the bottom of the chamber

Add coffee (you will need to figure out your own preference of amount)

Ok.. so I didn't capture all the steps.  After loading the chamber with coffee, place it on your cup (the funnel is if you have a small cup), and add boiling or hot water.  The trick about this is figuring out how much water vs coffee want. It may take some experimenting to get that perfect cup for you.  I put two big scoops of coffee in... add water up to the top, and stir it with the paddle well.  While this is happening, water will start to flow through the filter, so the level will drop. After stirring, I top it up again, and then fit the plunger over the top.  This creates a vacuum so the coffee/water sits in the chamber.  Similar to a press, I let it steep for 4 min or so, and then press the plunger all the way down.

What's cool is that the compression produces a nice little foamy finish to your cup which I like.  And now the best part!  To clean, simply unscrew the filter base, point the chamber into the trash can, and press.  All is ejected, and after a 10 second rinse in hot water, the press is clean and ready to store or use again.  No more messy grounds to clean out of your press, or filter screen to clean!  AND, no more cloudy or slightly chunky coffee that can occur with a press as well.

And now go enjoy your morning cup on a sunny deck and chillax!  Or, more often for me, enjoy that cup on the dark drive down to the Manitou Incline and be fueled to get up that hill and back down Barr Trail!

So.. any of you coffee lovers interested in your own Aeropress?  Well, lucky for you, the great folks at Aerobie are going to send one lucky winner a complete Aeropress set in a tote bag.  Also, did you know this is the same company that makes some pretty amazing flying discs? I had one that I really loved some time ago.. worked way better than that brand that starts with an F  ;-).  So check those out too here!

Follow the instructions on each option below to earn entries.  Contest will close on Monday, September 24th, at 10PM MST.  Winners will be selected at random from all entries using random.org.   Contest limited to residents of  the U.S. and Canada.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for following, good luck, and happy trails!!

Jeff
barefootinclined.blogspot.com